SmartQA Community

#32 : A special on “Digital Testing Automation”

SmartQA Digest

In this edition of SmartBites Video, Shivaji Raju Expert Architect at Allstate Solutions helps us understand as to what test automation is in the new digital world and highlights the key shifts.

“Automating test execution in isolation ends up being more of a problem than a solution. Any automation solution either to enhance quality and to improve test cycles should encompass the tasks across test discipline. Automation should be considered a lever to meet the business objectives and not an objective itself.” More in the interesting article Automation in isolation is more of a problem! in ‘beEnriched’ section by Vijay Kumar Gambhiraopet, Test Automation Leader for North America at IBM.

Approximate thinking” is a very necessary skill that allows one to rapidly work out facts quickly and rapidly understand. When I ask the simple question “How many hairs do you have on your head?” to workshop participants, the answers have varied from 5K-5M! Crazy variation, right? “The Art of Profitability” is a brilliant business book that inspired me to delve deeper into this. Read how the book inspired me in ‘expandMind’ section.

In ‘nanoLearning’, Raja Nagendra Kumar outlines four key “Habits to Clean Coding”: ‘Understand that DONE MOVES'(1), ‘There will be bugs, and for heaven’s sake, LEARN and ADJUST’ (2), ‘It is not just about functionality, constantly focus on NFRs’ (3) and ‘Continually re-factor right so that you don’t get into ‘fire’.(4)

beEnriched

Featured image of article "Automation in isolation is a problem!"

Automation in isolation is more of a problem!

Automating test execution in isolation ends up being more of a problem than a solution. Any automation solution either to enhance quality and to improve test cycles should encompass the tasks across test discipline. Automation should be considered a lever to meet the business objectives and not an objective itself.

Read More »

expandMind

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#31 : A special on “Design for Testability”

SmartQA Digest

In the beEnriched section is an interesting article “Design for Testability- An Overview” that outlines what testability is, background of testability from hardware, economic value of DFT,  why is testability important,  design principles to enable testability and guidelines to ease testability of codebase, drawing upon five interesting articles on DFT.
 
In this edition of SmartBites Video, Girish Elchuri illuminates us on how Design for Testability is useful in building with quality.
 
“The Art of Profitability” is a brilliant business book. However, I learnt “Approximate thinking” of how to rapidly approximate and get facts to analyse further. Read how the book inspired me in “expandMind”.
 
In nanoLearning, Dr. Arun Krishnan explains why stopping using human intellect would be a mistake in any field. While he is all for AI helping testing, he believes there is  still a role for human intellect.

beEnriched

expandMind

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#30 : A special on “Human-Machine Dynamics”

SmartQA Digest

Welcome to an interesting edition that is a special on “Human-Machine Dynamics”. 
 
I find the “manual vs automated testing” discussion seriously flawed. In the article “Dissecting the Human/Machine Test conundrum”, I outline an interesting way how the role of human power and leverage of machines to do testing smartly, rapidly and super efficiently.
 
SmartBites features TED Talk featuring one of the greatest chess players in history, Garry Kasparov who feels, we humans should exploit the machines and not fight it.
 
“The Art of Profitability” is a brilliant business book. However, I learnt “Approximate thinking” of how to rapidly approximate and get facts to analyse further. Read how the book inspired me in “expandMind”.
 
In nanoLearning, Dr. Arun Krishnan explains why stopping using human intellect would be a mistake in any field. While he is all for AI helping testing, he believes it still is a role for the human intellect.

beEnriched

expandMind

Featured image for article "Sketchnote"

Sketchnote

Sketchnotes are purposeful doodling while listening to something interesting. Sketchnotes don’t require high drawing skills, but do require a skill to visually synthesize and summarize via shapes, connectors, and text. Sketchnotes are as much a method of note taking as they are a form of creative expression.

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#29 : A special on “Understanding”

SmartQA Digest

The article I wrote “The Buddha story: Good understanding”, is all about how ‘understanding’ is knowing what is required, and learning to discard what is not necessary or deferring to a later stage.
 
On the same context, SmartBites features TEDx video titled “The power of listening” by William Ury. He explains how listening is essential for understanding, and often overlooked, half of communication.
 
The “nanoLearning” smartbits gives Vivek Mathur’s views on the ‘Role of human intellect in QA‘. He thinks understanding the business context cannot be reproduced by AI and will never be.

beEnriched

expandMind

Featured image for article "Sketchnote"

Sketchnote

Sketchnotes are purposeful doodling while listening to something interesting. Sketchnotes don’t require high drawing skills, but do require a skill to visually synthesize and summarize via shapes, connectors, and text. Sketchnotes are as much a method of note taking as they are a form of creative expression.

Read More »

SmartBites

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#28 : A special on “Structure”

SmartQA Digest

SmartBites features another great TEDx video titled “Applying the principles of biomimicry to business” by Wiebke Liu. Biomimicry is inspiring businesses, architecture and manufacturing by designing solutions, structures and products that simulate processes that occur in nature. The article I wrote titled “The Power of Geometry” is all about how structure(or organisation) of elements play a key to doing more with less.
 
The “nanoLearning” smartbits gives Sudhir Patnaik’s views on the ‘Role of human intellect in QA‘. He thinks intelligent systems and humans will have to share the roles.
 
Hope you found inspiration to use Sketchnotes. As I mentioned last week, it stimulates visual thinking. If you have not already read it, please read about this brilliant book “Sketchnote handbook” featured in “expandMind” section.
 
Have you had a chance to read the complimentary ebook  “Raise your QANSCIOUSNESS – Test effortlessly”? Do share your thoughts.

beEnriched

The Power of Geometry

A good running form, a great cycling geometry becomes essential to delivering higher performance with no increase in power output in running and cycling respectively.

Read More »

expandMind

Featured image for article "Sketchnote"

Sketchnote

Sketchnotes are purposeful doodling while listening to something interesting. Sketchnotes don’t require high drawing skills, but do require a skill to visually synthesize and summarize via shapes, connectors, and text. Sketchnotes are as much a method of note taking as they are a form of creative expression.

Read More »

SmartBites

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#27 : A special on “Thinking”

SmartQA Digest

This features a great TEDx video titled “How to think, not what to think” as this week’s SmartBites. This is complemented with an interesting article that I wrote titled “Do brilliantly ‘right’ after taking a ‘left’!”.  After all a logical left-brained thinking complemented with a creative right-brained thinking will result in brilliant testing, right?
 
The “nanoLearning” smartbits gives you a quick overview of “Systematic Inventive Thinking”, a problem solving method that enables you to find innovative solutions to problems bounded by hard constraints.
 
The typical way in how we take notes is linear, with text from left to right and lines following each other. Do you know that Sketchnote is a creative way of note taking that stimulates your visual thinking? Read about this brilliant book “Sketchnote handbook” featured in “expandMind” section. I was blown away by this book where each page is a Sketchnote produced by hand!
 
I am very keen to expand the readership of SmartQA digest and transform the way how people perceive and do QA. I seek your help in forwarding this email to passionate engineering & QA colleagues. I am sure that they will enjoy the complimentary ebook  “Raise your QANSCIOUSNESS – Test effortlessly” on signup. Have you had a chance to read this?

beEnriched

expandMind

Featured image for article "Sketchnote"

Sketchnote

Sketchnotes are purposeful doodling while listening to something interesting. Sketchnotes don’t require high drawing skills, but do require a skill to visually synthesize and summarize via shapes, connectors, and text. Sketchnotes are as much a method of note taking as they are a form of creative expression.

Read More »

SmartBites

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smartbits

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#26 : “CIO special”

SmartQA Digest

Thank you for your patronage. This is our Silver edition, yes the 25th ! Welcome to a special XXV SmartQA Digest!
I have made a lovely eBook for you and a special SmartBites video.
May the poster fill you with bliss.

beEnriched

CIO Views on Quality Featured Image

CIO views on Quality

SummaryThis article is about views on quality from CIOs curated from a list of interesting articles. It is felt that solution quality is one of

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expandMind

The power of checklist

Recently I read the book “The Checklist Manifesto” by Atul Gawande.  “An essential primer on complexity in medicine” is what New York Times states about

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#25: “The Silver Edition”

SmartQA Digest

Thank you for your patronage. This is our Silver edition, yes the 25th ! Welcome to a special XXV SmartQA Digest!
I have made a lovely eBook for you and a special SmartBites video.
May the poster fill you with bliss.

SmartBites

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24 – “Great quality is about “operationalising”, beyond testing”

SmartQA Digest

Welcome to SmartQA Digest, that outlines aspects of successful large scale application deployment. Zulfikar outlines how a mindset to ‘system operationalisation’ is key delivering large IT systems successfully. The article outlines three failures of poor operationalisation. Would you agree that a massive failure is really the domino effect of small faults? Enjoy the poster!

SmartBites

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#23 – “10 Thoughts & Creative Thinking”

SmartQA Digest

Welcome to SmartQA Digest that features thoughts from TEN practitioners from around the world as SmartBites, an article on “Right brained thinking” and a lovely poster on craftsmanship. After all “Craftsmanship is where head touches the heart”.
Have a great day and a lovely weekend. 

SmartBites

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